I have been using the PC680 batteries for a while in all our bikes but they dont seem to last very long and frankly have not proven to be reliable for me. Is there a go to battery anyone would recommend. These will be going into 1100/1150/1200RTs and are pretty much used everyday. I believe I have used the westco batteries from beemerboneyard several years ago before switching to the Panasonic and may end up switching back to them.

MotoBatt MB51814 has a 2yr replacement warranty, no pro-rate and 260CCA.I've sold them for probably 6-7yr. And they are very dependable. I'm a dealer for them and on a bulk purchase can possibly do a bit better than Amazon. It takes about a week to get them from my supplier. I'm in Central Calif. near Fresno.We installed them in several of the smaller departments RT-P's as they didn't have the budget for the BMW battery and they worked as expected. A 6mm internal star washer has been found to be helpful to prevent the battery terminals from coming loose over time.

Interesting you folks have had bad luck with odyssey, I find them to be very long lasting batteries. I have 8 bikes and have odyssey in 6 of them. As old as 8 years old. Now the best OEM battery I have had is the exide battery that comes in Piagio products like Vespa and Guzzi. I have 2 of those at 11 years old.

I'll add my experience with the PC680 from another thread here: PC680 charging

The PC680 and the WESTCO are both AGM batteries. My experience is that proper maintenance is much more important than the brand of battery

AGM (Absorptive Glass Mat) batteries need a slightly higher charging voltage than the older lead-acid batteries that some of these older bikes came with and were designed for. Also, if you use a "maintenance charger" or trickle charger such as a "BatteryTINDER", you should check to make SURE your model is designed expressly for AGM batteries. I use a model "2012AGM" "BatteryMINDer" (an unfortunate name similarity - a TOTALLY different business and charger from the previously mentioned charger) that has an additional DESULFATION cycle. And, it works, as described in the other thread.

I also changed the voltage regulator in the Bosch alternator for the AGM in my '99 R1100S, as described later in the same thread above. EME sells these for $39: BOALT-reg365

When the battery is properly charged and maintained EVERYTHING, especially the starter and Motronic, works better. And the battery LASTS longer, too.

I have been using the PC680 batteries for a while in all our bikes but they dont seem to last very long and frankly have not proven to be reliable for me. Is there a go to battery anyone would recommend. These will be going into 1100/1150/1200RTs and are pretty much used everyday. I believe I have used the westco batteries from beemerboneyard several years ago before switching to the Panasonic and may end up switching back to them.

Morning KER

The thing with the Westco is Westco doesn't make their batteries, they just buy in bulk from a foreign battery supplier then slap their Westco badge on them. Years & years ago the Westco was a pretty decent battery, then they had a large run of batteries with internal failures (probably a cheaper supplier). I'm not sure where they are now on quality or durability as I haven't used them since they had all the problems.

As a rule a motorcycle rider can't beat the Odyssey (PC-680) as they are a very predictable & top tier battery-- BUT-- I see that you live in Ca. (HEAT kills batteries especially GEL batteries). Unfortunately the battery in the BMW 1100/1150/1200 sits over the hot engine (1200RT slightly better position) so add the engine heat to the hot ambient temps & you get early battery failures as the battery temp easily exceeds 120°f while charging in some situations.

Unfortunately, most battery brands don't make the battery that they sell with their name on it (only a few battery manufacturers) so if you get (or had) a battery that worked good in the past it might be a totally different battery from a different manufacturer now.

I have been putting Universal Battery AGM UB12220 in my R1100RT. $50 shipped to my door. Spins and starts the motor right up and has totally cured the ABS low volt fault out on start up that was an issue on the 1100 motors being started with less than a fully charged battery. You do need to ream the post holes slightly but this battery has been very reliable for me. I change them out at 5 years though they still are working well and have had zero issues with the 3 I have used in my RT even though they are designed for battery back up and emergency exit light systems. I likely would not use this battery in a GS ridden off road as they might not take that amount of knocking around like a true automotive battery. The UB 12220 is rated at 22 AH so it very similar to the 20 AH Panasonic mentioned above and it comes down to best delivered cost on which you choose.

If the good old days were so damn good, why did we bother to invent modern times?